Deadly Bomb Blast Hits Daghestani Shopping Area

Russian officials say a bomb has killed at least two people in Russia’s North Caucasus republic of Daghestan.

Police say the device exploded on May 1 in a shopping area in the regional capital, Makhachkala.

Russian news agencies report that the two people killed were teenagers.

A spokeswoman for the republic's Interior Ministry, Fatina Ubaidatova, said a number of people were also injured in the blast.

A ministry statement said the bomb was made with a steel pipe packed with the equivalent of two kilos of TNT.

Daghestan is one of the most volatile republics in the North Caucasus, enduring frequent violence linked to Islamist extremists and criminal groups.

Based on reporting by AP, dpa, ITAR-TASS, and Interfax